The Manor's Light

_"Without darkness one cannot know light."_

* * *

The day started fairly typical, or what seemed to be nowadays. Alfred was impolitic to say the least, coming into Bruce's bedroom and pulling back each of the dark curtains that were draped across the bedroom window. Bruce let out a groan, rolling over in a childish manner. Perpetually seeming to be in a teenager's frame of mind when it came to mornings, Bruce was always unwilling to get up on time and dreaded Alfred's routine morning disturbances.

"I'll be down in a bit, Alfred," he whined, folding half of the pillow around his head to protect himself from the unbearable amount of light pouring inside the room.

Smiling a little to himself, Alfred nodded, entertained by Bruce's childish demeanor. "I'm about to prepare breakfast so do make an effort to come down soon, Master Bruce," he responded formally, then leaving Bruce to himself.

Laying there for a good while, Bruce let his mind adjust to being awake. He rolled over onto his back, running a hand over his slightly-stubbled face, and listened. Not for anything in particular, but he enjoyed indulging in the tranquility of the morning – before having to put on the two masks he had to adorn every day, the metaphorical and the literal. There was the usual stillness, which he had always found himself appreciating, and the faint sound of the breeze outside, the clock ticking across the room; he picked up on every slight sound the mansion contained. Though now a sweeter sound had come with every morning – a delightful disturbance from the result of an upheaval of two lives – the light pattering of footsteps making their way down the hall. It was a sound that could easily send Bruce out of bed with little to no trouble upon hearing it.

The sweet smell of requested chocolate chip pancakes and syrup enveloped him as soon as he stepped foot into the kitchen, with a faint hint of freshly made coffee which was still sat in the coffeemaker. Though the pancakes were not his request, he still enjoyed their scent. Alfred was just starting to wash the dishes as Bruce made himself a cup of coffee, leaning against the counter with a yawn; though running on only a few hours' sleep didn't seem to bother him anymore. Not when he could experience mornings like this.

The sun shone in through every window, each of their curtains pulled aside for this very purpose as the sun's deep orange radiance of the early morning projected a warm glow throughout the household. Though it wasn't the serenity of the morning's natural atmosphere that gave them so much meaning, but those who he was able to share them with. The oddity that had now become the mundane. A natural warmth that had been brought into the manor that had once been a lonesome reminder of a grim past, now a constant reminder of accomplishment and, most of all, innocence – something Bruce had been absent of for so long.

Across the island in the center of the room sat a small girl, Lucy. Her messy dark auburn hair had a pleasant luminescence in the sun's radiant glow, falling just past her shoulders as her bangs were frayed and unbrushed; her feet swung back and forth, barely making their way halfway down the stool she sat upon. She stopped hastily eating the pancakes that were placed in front of her and looked up, a youthful brightness in her eyes that Bruce was almost unaccustomed to as she said a quick "good morning" before returning to eating her breakfast. Bruce smiled at her, another peculiarity, and returned the greeting before taking a sip of his coffee.

"I've prepared a plate for you, sir. It's over there," Alfred mentioned, motioning to the island with a single nod.

Nodding in return, Bruce took a seat at the island beside Lucy where a plate of toast and grapefruit and the day's print of Gotham Daily newspaper sat in front of him. Lucy eyed his plate in disgust before carefully hopping off of the stool to put her plate in the sink, then running off to get ready for school.

The sound of her light footsteps got further and further away as she made her way across the large mansion to her bedroom; her outfit already set out for her courtesy of Alfred. Bruce could feel the life of the room pull away as soon as she left it. She had become so dear to him, such a detrimental part of his life in the brief time that they've known each other. There was now a small light in his dreary world.

Dressed in the outfit Alfred had laid out, hair and teeth brushed, Lucy returned to the kitchen a good fifteen minutes later. Bruce was nearly finished with his breakfast and focused on finishing his coffee as he tried to suppress another yawn with no luck.

As Alfred dried the last of the dishes, Lucy brushed past Bruce to grab her backpack on the floor against the base of the island. She carefully slid each of her small arms into the straps, gripping her hands around them near her shoulders. She looked up at Bruce who scoffed at the newspaper's article on the GCPD's current progress of discovering the identity of the Batman which was, unsurprisingly, inconclusive. He could feel her stare and turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Yes?" he asked.

She took a step closer to him, making him lean down a little. "I just wanted to say goodbye before I leave," she said timidly, lovingly wrapping her arms around his waist. Though it was difficult for Lucy to get her arms around Bruce's broad stature, she enjoyed the embrace just the same. Blinking his eyes in surprise, Bruce didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her in return. It didn't seem like too long ago that this occurrence would seem completely out of the question, and that Bruce's expressions of affection would seem just as unconventional as Alfred had then chimed in.

Bruce smirked as he and Lucy parted, looking over at Alfred. "I _know, _Alfred," he said in his usual cocky tone when holding conversations with the butler.

"I believe it is time for Miss Lucy and I to be taking our leave now, sir," Alfred added, hands formally clasped in front of himself. He stood at the doorway leading into the next room, waiting to take Lucy to school.

Looking at the time, Bruce agreed. He looked down at Lucy again and smiled gently. "You have a good day at school," he told her, an unintentional sternness in his voice.

Lucy repositioned her backpack's straps to a more comfortable part of her shoulders and smiled wide in return. "I will," she said cheerfully, a bit more bounce in her tone. She faced away from him and joined Alfred in the doorway, the two of them then walking away together.

A faint smile still on his face, Bruce returned to unenthusiastically reading the newspaper, but could hear Lucy and Alfred's voices echo through the mansion's large main room as they headed for the door. Just as Lucy was about to step foot outside, she turned back, yelling a cheerful "Bye, Bruce!"

Her smile, her enthusiasm – childish characteristics that had thankfully not been lost. Bruce couldn't help but feel a sense of achievement given the circumstances in which they had met; what they went through to get to where they currently were. Who knew that something that had started with such tragedy would wind up so wonderful?


End file.
